Retro Review: The Opposite of Life

Narrelle M Harris

Pulp Fiction Press (2007)

ISBN: 9780975112922

Reviewed by Tehani Wessely (this review was first published in December 2008)

There are a lot of supernatural dark fantasies about at the moment, so for Pulp Fiction Press to take a chance on a relatively unknown author in this genre, they must believe the story is something special. In this case, it’s a pleasant surprise to find they were not far off the mark. In The Opposite of Life, Harris has taken quite a different turn in the paranormal field

While there’s nothing terribly new here, the treatment of the protagonist and the vampires involved in the story is just a little unusual. This is especially evident in the description of Gary, the vampire that our hero, Lissa, gets to know best:

The brightly coloured tropical shirt was a dead giveaway. It was unbuttoned, revealing a faded green T-shirt which tightened slightly around the middle and flowed over the top of equally faded blue jeans. His mop of untidy, light brown hair topped a round, pale face. Beneath the fringe, a pair of hazel eyes blinked owlishly at us.

Later, he’s referred to as “… the tubby guy in the tropical shirt”. A far cry from the ridiculously gorgeous brooding vampires normally encountered in this type of book! It makes a nice change.